Klowden Marc J, Chambers Gail M
Division of Entomology, University of Idaho, P.O. Box 442339, Moscow, ID 83844-2339, USA.
J Insect Physiol. 2004 Dec;50(12):1163-70. doi: 10.1016/j.jinsphys.2004.10.008.
The males of two mosquito species within the Anopheles gambiae complex, An. gambiae s.s. and An. quadriannulatus, as well as males of An. darlingi, produced sperm of significantly varying lengths, while a sperm polymorphism was absent in Aedes aegypti and other anophelines not suspected of belonging to species complexes. The polymorphic distribution of these sperm lengths was not significantly different in smaller adult males that were reared on a low larval diet. The reproductive tract of the female was more likely to contain larger sperm, but overall sperm retention varied depending on the size of the female and the volume of the spermatheca she contained. The presence of a sperm polymorphism may be a factor that has promoted speciation, as well as providing an indication that females may mate multiply.
冈比亚按蚊复合体中的两种蚊子，即冈比亚按蚊指名亚种和四斑按蚊的雄性，以及达林按蚊的雄性，产生的精子长度差异显著，而埃及伊蚊和其他未被怀疑属于物种复合体的按蚊则不存在精子多态性。在以低幼虫饲料饲养的较小成年雄性蚊子中，这些精子长度的多态分布没有显著差异。雌性的生殖道更有可能含有较大的精子，但总体精子保留情况因雌性的大小及其所含受精囊的体积而异。精子多态性的存在可能是促进物种形成的一个因素，同时也表明雌性可能进行多次交配。
